A disbanded soldier
had nothing to live on, and did not know how to get on. So he went out into the
forest and when he had walked for a short time, he met a little man who was,
however, the Devil. The little man said to him, "What ails you, you seem
so very sorrowful?" Then the soldier said, "I am hungry, but have no
money." The Devil said, "If you will hire yourself to me, and be my
serving-man, you shall have enough for all your life? You shall serve me for
seven years, and after that you shall again be free. But one thing I must tell
you, and that is, you must not wash, comb, or trim yourself, or cut your hair
or nails, or wipe the water from your eyes." The soldier said, "All
right, if there is no help for it," and went off with the little man, who
straightway led him down into hell. Then he told him what he had to do. He was
to poke the fire under the kettles wherein the hell-broth was stewing, keep the
house clean, drive all the sweepings behind the doors, and see that everything
was in order, but if he once peeped into the kettles, it would go ill with him.
The soldier said, "Good, I will take care." And then the old Devil
went out again on his wanderings, and the soldier entered upon his new duties,
made the fire, and swept the dirt well behind the doors, just as he had been
bidden. When the old Devil came back again, he looked to see if all had been
done, appeared satisfied, and went forth a second time. The soldier now took a
good look on every side; the kettles were standing all round hell with a mighty
fire below them, and inside they were boiling and sputtering. He would have
given anything to look inside them, if the Devil had not so particularly
forbidden him: at last, he could no longer restrain himself, slightly raised
the lid of the first kettle, and peeped in, and there he saw his former
corporal shut in. "Aha, old bird!" said he, "Do I meet you here?
You once had me in your power, now I have you," and he quickly let the lid
fall, poked the fire, and added a fresh log. After that, he went to the second
kettle, raised its lid also a little, and peeped in; his former ensign was in
that. "Aha, old bird, so I find you here! you once had me in your power,
now I have you." He closed the lid again, and fetched yet another log to
make it really hot. Then he wanted to see who might be sitting up in the third
kettle it was actuallybe but a general. "Aha, old bird, do I meet you
here? Once you had me in your power, now I have you." And he fetched the
bellows and made hell-fire blaze right under him. So he did his work seven
years in hell, did not wash, comb, or trim himself, or cut his hair or nails,
or wash the water out of his eyes, and the seven years seemed so short to him
that he thought he had only been half a year. Now when the time had fully gone
by, the Devil came and said, "Well Hans, what have you done?" "I
poked the fire under the kettles, and I have swept all the dirt well behind the
doors."
"But you
have peeped into the kettles as well; it is lucky for you that you added fresh
logs to them, or else your life would have been forfeited; now that your time
is up, will you go home again?" "Yes," said the soldier, "I
should very much like to see what my father is doing at home." The Devil
said, "In order that you may receive the wages you have earned, go and
fill your knapsack full of the sweepings, and take it home with you. You must
also go unwashed and uncombed, with long hair on your head and beard, and with
uncut nails and dim eyes, and when you are asked whence you come, you must say,
"From hell," and when you are asked who you are, you are to say,
"The Devil's sooty brother, and my King as well." The soldier held
his peace, and did as the Devil bade him, but he was not at all satisfied with
his wages. Then as soon as he was up in the forest again, he took his knapsack
from his back, to empty it, but on opening it, the sweepings had become pure
gold. "I should never have expected that," said he, and was well
pleased, and entered the town. The landlord was standing in front of the inn,
and when he saw the soldier approaching, he was terrified, because Hans looked
so horrible, worse than a scare-crow. He called to him and asked, "Whence
comest thou?" "From hell." "Who art thou?" "The
Devil's sooty brother, and my King as well." Then the host would not let
him enter, but when Hans showed him the gold, he came and unlatched the door
himself. Hans then ordered the best room and attendance, ate, and drank his
fill, but neither washed nor combed himself as the Devil had bidden him, and at
last lay down to sleep. But the knapsack full of gold remained before the eyes
of the landlord, and left him no peace, and during the night he crept in and stole
it away. Next morning, however, when Hans got up and wanted to pay the landlord
and travel further, behold his knapsack was gone! But he soon composed himself
and thought, "Thou hast been unfortunate from no fault of thine own,"
and straightway went back again to hell, complained of his misfortune to the
old Devil, and begged for his help. The Devil said, "Seat yourself, I will
wash, comb, and trim you, cut your hair and nails, and wash your eyes for
you," and when he had done with him, he gave him the knapsack back again
full of sweepings, and said, "Go and tell the landlord that he must return
you your money, or else I will come and fetch him, and he shall poke the fire
in your place." Hans went up and said to the landlord, "Thou hast stolen
my money; if thou dost not return it, thou shalt go down to hell in my place,
and wilt look as horrible as I." Then the landlord gave him the money, and
more besides, only begging him to keep it secret, and Hans was now a rich man.
He set out on
his way home to his father, bought himself a shabby smock-frock to wear, and
strolled about making music, for he had learned to do that while he was with
the Devil in hell. There was however, an old King in that country, before whom
he had to play, and the King was so delighted with his playing, that he
promised him his eldest daughter in marriage. But when she heard that she was
to be married to a common fellow in a smock-frock, she said, "Rather than
do that, I would go into the deepest water." Then the King gave him the
youngest, who was quite willing to do it to please her father, and thus the
Devil's sooty brother got the King's daughter, and when the aged King died, the
whole kingdom likewise.
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